MIDLAND – A sweep of host Northwood University Saturday enabled the Northern Michigan University women’s volleyball team to clinch a spot in the GLIAC tournament.

“I’m proud of our team’s performance today,” Northern head coach Dominic Yoder said. “We had a very good game plan going into the match and our players executed it flawlessly.”

The Wildcats will be the seventh seed in the GLIAC tournament. They will face second-seeded Findlay in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Findlay, Ohio.

After pulling out a tight 25-23 victory in the first set over Northwood, the Wildcats dispatched the Timberwolves in the next two in commanding fashion, winning each by a 25-13 margin.

In the decisive third set, with the teams tied at 10 apiece, NMU went on a 15-3 run to close out Northwood and move to 21-9 (10-8 GLIAC) on the season.

During that run, the Wildcats posted six service aces, with Megan Dahl recording four of them.

The teams were tied at seven different points in the first set, including at 23-all after the Timberwolves rallied from a set-high three-point deficit.

But Kayla Chosa and Jami Hogeboom posted back-to-back kills to give Northern a 1-0 edge.

The Wildcats didn’t waste time in the second set racing out to a lead, winning the first seven points. From that point on, they didn’t allow the Timberwolves back to within four.

Chosa was the lone player in the match to reach the double digit mark in kills, notching 12. Lisa Studnicka and Autumn Monsma contributed seven apiece.

Hogeboom posted a match-high 32 assists while Alex Berger recorded a game-best 14 digs.

Information compiled by Senior Sports Writer Craig Remsburg. He can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 251, or via email at cremsburg@miningjournal.net.